Contents

Name

The Japanese name of Rodan, "Radon", is a contraction of "pteranodon" and may also have been chosen to suggest radiation. In the United States, the monster's name was changed to and trademarked as "Rodan."

History

In 1956's Rodan, there were two Rodans, a male and female who were both mates. They were awakened by mining operations in Kitamatsu along with a swarm of prehistoric insects called "Meganulons". One of the creatures, presumably the male, performed an elusive airborne prowl across various Pacific countries such as the Philippines and China before finally revealing itself after it emerges from the foot of Mount Aso. As the word spreads of the monster's existence, no time was wasted, as the Japanese airforce pursuits the threat, leading directly the city of Fukuoka. Following a fierce ariel dogfight, a fighter jet crashes into Rodan's wing injuring the beast and neutralizing its ability to fly at supersonic speeds, although this does not stop the Pteranodon from laying waist to the city. Soon enough, the second Rodan appears to escort its mate to safety, ending the rampage. As the two monsters prepare to hibernate by returning to their nest in Mount Aso, Japan's defence force performs a last-ditch effort to defeat the Rodans by bombarding the active volcano, triggering an eruption. As the two mates attempt to escape, one is incapacitated by the lava and falls in burning to death. The second Rodan then flew down to its dying mate, incinerating itself, and leaving both Rodans to burn away in the molten rock.

Rodan went on to cross over into the Godzilla series. Whether another Rodan entirely, or a survivor from 1956, this Rodan was resurrected by accumulated volcanic gas, appearing in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster in 1964 when he broke out of the crust of the volcano and helped Godzilla and Mothra defeat King Ghidorah. In this appearance and all subsequent appearances in the Showa series Rodan is as tall as Godzilla with a wingspan a little wider than he is tall.

Rodan appeared with Godzilla again in Invasion of Astro-Monster, where both were mind-controlled by Xiliens to destroy Earth's cities and later fought King Ghidorah again when the mind control was broken.

In Destroy All Monsters, Rodan was again used by aliens to wreak havoc on Earth, this time by the Kilaaks. Again the mind control was broken and the monsters fought King Ghidorah. After King Ghidorah was defeated, Rodan was set on fire by a rogue Fire Dragon, but he recovered, and is later shown with the other monsters to be peacefully inhabiting Monsterland. Rodan would only appear again in the Showa series in stock footage used for Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon, and Terror of MechaGodzilla.

While Rodan only appears through stock footage, his small role in the film is somewhat significant. Rodan and Anguirus are resting on Monster Island when a Nuclear Bomb is tested nearby, creating a massive fissure and a massive earthquake. Rodan tries to escape, but Anguirus falls on him and both of the kaiju fall into the growing chasm. This act of destruction by the humans was the last straw for the Seatopian people, who commanded Megalon to attack the humans for their perceived crimes.

Rodan returned in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2, where he sought to protect Baby Godzilla, whose egg was in Rodan's nest. Rodan played a vital role in the film's climax, sacrificing his own life to revive Godzilla by transferring his life-energy to him.

Heisei Rodan is notably much smaller than his appearances in the Showa series, standing only about 2/3 as tall as Godzilla and having a wingspan not too much larger than Godzilla's height. The prominent rows of spines on his belly are replaced with overlapping ridges of bone, and he has three spines on his head instead of two (the outer two curve outwards and the center curves up), as well as a wider beak and more predatory face. Heisei Rodan does have some of his predecessor's durability, withstanding several blasts from both Godzilla and MechaGodzilla, and kept his speed and shockwave abilities as well as a stronger pecking attack that can shatter boulders.

After being defeated and left for dead by Godzilla following a fight on the small island where his and Baby Godzilla's eggs are found, Rodan was revived by the psychic song of an ancient plant that had covered the eggs. Godzilla's radiation mutated Rodan into Fire Rodan, changing his colors from brown and tan to brick red and light yellow/gold. Fire Rodan also gained a uranium heat ray as a weapon, similar to Godzilla's atomic breath. Besides that, Fire Rodan remained basically the same as Rodan.

Fire Rodan

As a children's choir sang to Baby Godzilla, Rodan heard the song miles away on the island where he was killed. He absorbed the nuclear energy from Godzilla and transformed into Fire Rodan, and he took off to save his surrogate brother. He caught the capsule that was carrying the baby, and flew it off towards a city. He was attacked by the Garuda and then by MechaGodzilla, who made him fly into a building. The humans' attention was then turned to the arriving Godzilla, and they battled him. Godzilla was defeated and paralyzed by Super MechaGodzilla, and Fire Rodan acted to save the life of his surrogate brother, and flew on top of Godzilla's body. He gave his life force and melted on Godzilla, healing his damaged second brain and giving him the power of the Spiral Beam. With Fire Rodan's power, Godzilla destroyed Super MechaGodzilla, and took Baby Godzilla out to sea.

Fire Rodan

In Godzilla: Final Wars, Rodan is used as a weapon of destruction by the Xiliens via mind control. He first appears wreaking havoc in the city of New York, utilizing his famed supersonic abilities to destroy buildings and evade attacks from the Rumbling, a high-tech warship. He appeared alongside an all-star cast of other classic monsters, as they wreaked havoc on the major cities of the world and were sent to fight Godzilla. Rodan, Anguirus and King Caesar were the only monsters Godzilla did not kill. Originally, Toho planned to film a scene where Godzilla destroyed them, but it was cut due to the fact that the fight scene was one of the first scenes filmed. Toho needed the costumes to film in other parts of the movie, and destroying them and making new costumes would interfere with the movie's budget, so the sequence was never filmed.

Abilities

Rodan's most noticeable trait is his flying speed, which has allowed him to effortlessly outmaneuver and outrun supersonic jets. Aside from his impressive speed and agility, Rodan possesses a variety of special abilities. He is capable of creating destructive shockwaves when flying, which he has used to demolish major cities such as Tokyo and Moscow. In addition, Rodan can cause powerful winds while on the ground by simply flapping his wings. He also uses his beak and talons effectively in battle(as shown in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2, where his beak was powerful enough to crush boulders) , and his wings, despite their delicate appearance, are quite durable. Rodan can lift creatures several times his weight, for instance, Godzilla. Rodan also usually has spikes on his head and chest, which he may use in battle.

He also could emit a blast of wind from his mouth in the 1956 movie, but this concept was never used again. In Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2, Rodan, as Fire Rodan, develops the ability to emit a radioactive heat beam from his mouth called his uranium heat beam, after exposure to Godzilla and a radioactive waste disposal site. In the manga adaptation of the aforementioned film, Fire Rodan can absorb any nearby small animals such as birds, and fish, among others, into his body in order to restore his health and vitality. Rodan is also shown to withstand Godzilla's atomic breath. They showed that concept in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. In the Game Boy Advance video game Godzilla: Domination!, the aerial terror can release a radioactive mist from specialized glands located in his torso area for two seconds, which, if it connects, can score up to three hits against the opponent. It can also be noted that this Rodan sports an "atomic heat ray" which in fact, resembles a fireball rather than an actual ray.

Rodan is back in Godzilla Unleashed but with a more fitting name called "Fire Rodan" to match his Uranium Beam. Rodan is part of the Earth Defender Faction and is one of the fastest flyers in the game.

Height: 70 metersHeight: 24,000 tons

"Fire Rodan is Earth's largest flier. His element is the air, the clouds, and the wind-swept mountain peaks that scrape against them. Nesting in the tops of active volcanoes, Fire Rodan is virtually immune to heat and lava-based attacks. Rodan is the fastest of all monsters while in the air, and prefers to confront challenges from a lofty height. His great speed also makes him a fierce hand-to-hand combatant, with savage claw, talon, and beak attacks. Fire Rodan defends the Earth's atmosphere - eliminating all airborne threats to the planet's well-being."

Rodan appears exclusively in the PlayStation 4 version of Godzilla: The Game as a playable monster. He is based on his 1956 appearance from Rodan. Rodan has the ability to fly around the map far faster than the other flying monsters in the game, and can produce powerful sonic booms by clapping his wings together.

Comics

In this manga, Rodan appears under the control of Doctor Oniyama, flying across Tokyo and dropping large bombs from his talons. He later attacks Godzilla while he is out at sea and carries him off, only to get slammed into the ground and get his wing torn off by Godzilla. One of his extra bombs was later used by Godzilla as a weapon to kill Anguirus.

Rodan appeared in the Rulers of Earth comic series, suddenly attacking Varan and fighting him in a military base. Rodan kept to the air, but the spikes on Varan's back shredded Rodan's wing, forcing him to retreat. Rodan was later seen in a flashback explaining the natural order of monsters, sleeping in a hillside cave. He is also seen on the mural in Infant Island's cave among other flying kaiju. Rodan was later transfered to the Monster Islands, its wing healed, and lived in peace there until the Trilopods attacked. Rodan fell, had his DNA copied by a Trilopod, and was taken to a Trilopod holding chamber along with the other residents of the islands. Much later, King Caesar rampaged through the Trilopod hive, freeing the imprisoned Earth monsters, and Rodan flew to Los Angeles to assist Godzilla in battle. Rodan managed to kill the Anguirus Trilopod, and fought against Magita, though being easily swatted aside by the massive Trilopod. Rodan, along with the other kaiju, followed Godzilla to return to the Monster Islands.

Gallery

In Other Languages

Russian: Родан

Chinese: 罗丹 (Luōdān), 氡(Dōng)

Trivia

Kohichi Kawakita, special effects director for the Heisei Godzilla series, made the decision to reduce Rodan's size to smaller than Godzilla, thereby avoiding the previous series' tendency of having every monster Godzilla fights be his size.

Rodan, Gyaos, and Chandora resemble bat-like creatures with large wings, although Rodan is more bird-like.

Strangely, despite being referred to as 'Fire Rodan' in the game Godzilla: Unleashed, and keeping the use of the form's Uranium Beam, Rodan is still represented in his normal form's appearance. This was most likely made as an excuse to give Rodan a beam weapon since, in Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee and Godzilla: Save the Earth, he is normal Rodan but was given the Uranium Beam, which is an ability that Rodan never uses in his regular form.

"Radon" (Rodan's Japanese name) is also the name of a noble gas discovered in 1898.

References

This is a list of references for Rodan. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]